Veteran goalkeeper Savita will lead India in the upcoming Women’s Asia Cup in Muscat as Hockey India on Wednesday named an 18-member squad for the event, comprising 16 players who competed in the Tokyo Olympics.
As regular skipper Rani Rampal is recovering from injury in Bengaluru, Savita will be on top for the tournament to be held from January 21 to 28. Veteran defender Deep Grace Ekka will be Savita’s deputy.
India are in Pool A along with Japan, Malaysia and Singapore.
It will defend the title against Malaysia on day one and will next play Japan on January 23 and Singapore on January 24. The semi-finals will be held on 26 January and the final on 28 January.
The top four teams will qualify for the 2022 World Cup to be held in Spain and the Netherlands.
“It is a very important tournament for us and I am happy with the team. It is a mix of talented youngsters along with some very experienced players who have shown great potential at the international level,” said head coach Janke Schopmann.
“While we were a little disappointed with how things turned out for us in the Asian Champions Trophy, we were able to return to the camp at SAI, Bengaluru and have had some good hockey seasons to prepare well for this challenge.”
In the previous edition in 2017, India defeated China 5-4 in a shootout to clinch the title.
Team:
Goalkeeper: Savita (captain), Rajni Ethimarpu.
Protector: Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur, Nikki Pradhan, Udita.
Midfielder: Nisha, Sushila Chanu, Monica, Neha, Salima Tete, Jyoti, Navjot Kaur.
Ahead: Navneet Kaur, Lalremsiami, Vandana Kataria, Mariana Kujur, Sharmila Devi,
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